The urban legend of Inunaki Village centers around a mysterious, cursed village hidden away among
the forests of the Fukuoka Prefecture of Kyūshū, Japan. The town's residents were said
to have undergone harsh scrutiny and persecution during the Edo period, and so the villagers
refused to accept the Constitution of Japan, forcing the government to isolate it and refusing to
govern or police it.
There are a number of rumours as to why the village was cordoned off, such as it being the site of
a mass murder; a place where occult rituals were conducted; an abandoned leper colony; a place
ravaged by disease; or that the villagers isolated themselves, resulting in the population
devolving into violent, inbred cannibals. No matter the theory, the one constant is that the
government quarantined the village to separate it from the rest of Japan.
The original Inunaki Village, known as Inunakidani Village (Inunaki Valley Village), was
established in the Edo Period of 1691. In 1889, the village was merged with the nearby Yoshikawa
Village and other surrounding areas to eventually make the city of Miyawaka. The original site of
Inunaki Valley Village now lies beneath the waters of Inunaki Dam, with the population of the
village being relocated to Wakita.
[1]
In 1949, the Inunaki Tunnel's construction was completed, with a replacement tunnel finished nearby
in 1975.
[2]
In 1988, a gang of five teenagers approached a factory worker, Koichi Umeyama in his car as he was
stopped near the tunnel. The teens asked to borrow Koichi's car, and when he refused, they dragged
him out of the car and attacked him. Koichi managed to escape temporarily, but was caught once
again.
The teens tried to throw Koichi over the edge of the Kanda Port, but he clung on to a nearby fence.
Worried his body may float and be discovered, the teens decided to throw Koichi into the trunk of
his car before severely beating him with items they found in the car. The teens then stopped off at
a gas station to pick up some petrol before heading to the Inunaki Tunnel where they covered Koichi
in gasoline. Koichi suddenly screamed out, his fear ringing throughout the tunnel, shocking the
teens enough that he managed to escape them once again, running off into the forest.
The teens called out to Koichi that they wouldn't hurt him anymore, and when he trusted them and
emerged from the forest, they once again attacked him, tying him up, stuffing ripped clothing in
his mouth, and beating him over the head with a rock before finally setting him alight. Screaming
out in anguish, Koichi stumbled to the front of the Inunaki Tunnel where he finally succumbed to
his wounds.
Satisfied that Koichi was truly dead, the teens left for a bar in Fukuoka where they were heard
boasting about setting someone on fire.
Koichi's body was discovered the next day, with the cause of death determined to be due to blood
loss.
The teens were arrested shortly thereafter, and despite their appeal to reduce their sentences,
the judge claimed that "The cruelty displayed is unlike any other seen in similar cases". The teens
were ultimately given life sentences for the murder of Koichi Umeyama.
[3]
In 1992, a car driving around the area hit a concrete utility pole with the driver dying and the
passengers suffering injuries.
[4]
In 1996, a newly married couple's bodies were discovered after they threw themselves into the
Inunaki Dam.
[5]
In 1999, an anonymous letter was sent to Japanese television station, Nippon TV titled "The
Village in Japan That Isn't Part of Japan". The letter described the legend of the young couple
whose car broke down near Inunaki Village before they were killed by a mad villager wielding a
sickle. The letter then urged the television network to check the area out. This would seemingly be
the first mainstream mention of the urban legend of Inunaki Village.
[6]
In 2000, the decayed body of a woman was found floating in Inunaki Dam, whether it was due to
suicide or the body had been dumped was undetermined due to the state of the body.
[4]
In 2001, a group of boys investigating ghosts around the Inunaki Tunnel were leaving in their car
when they hit a truck in
a head-on collision.
Four of the five passengers died, with the sole survivor suffering heavy injuries.
[4]
The tunnel has now been sealed off to the public by large cinder blocks for safety reasons due to
poor maintenance.
[7]
With the release of the movie, Howling Village, and the video game, Inunaki Tunnel in
2019, the area saw an even greater surge in popularity. The site around the tunnel is now covered
in graffiti, and gangs of youths flock to the site to drink and party, much to the chagrin of the
locals.
[2]
One story claims that no dog could safely cross the Inunaki Ridge due to its dangerous, narrow paths, leaving any dog stuck howling for help.
A similar story tells of a wolf attempting to traverse Inunaki Ridge. It eventually came across a waterfall, but try as it might, it couldn't reach the top, leaving it sat howling in sadness at the bottom of the falls.
A more sinister story involves a villager and his pet dog. It's said that the dog would bark all day and night, until one day, the villager's mind snapped and he finally killed the dog. Soon after, the villager and his entire family were murdered, as it was the dog's barking that was keeping the killers away.
An alternate version of the story sees the villager hunting in the forest, and thinking his dog's barking was scaring off the wild animals, he killed his dog, only to be met by a giant snake the dog was trying to warn him of.
A number of dog statues can be found scattered around the area of Inunaki, possibly connecting to these tales.
The Inunaki Village can only be accessed via the Inunaki Tunnel: an old pass completed in 1949.
The construction of the tunnel was said to have been a treacherous one, with the tunnel's roof
collapsing and killing hundreds of workers. Stories have been told of screams being heard within
the tunnel at night, as well as handprints and faces being seen pressed against the windows of cars
that passed through it.
Supposedly, a public telephone used to be in use outside of the tunnel
entrance, with visitors reporting hearing ghosts through the receiver.
It is said that no map shows the location of Inunaki Village and that the area has no phone service, with other electronics suddenly not working. It is also said that the village itself is full of traps laid by the villagers to capture and kill unsuspecting outsiders.
The Inunaki Dam has its own dark legend surrounding it: It was believed that upon the agreement of
the dam being built, agents of the dam construction company were sent to evict the residents of
Inunaki. Those who refused to leave were restrained in their homes and left to drown as the village
was engulfed by the waters of the dam.
The dam is now rumoured to be a popular suicide spot and place for people to dump dead bodies.
While many stories have come from the legend of Inunaki Village and the surrounding area, the most
prominent story takes place in the 1970s and is that of a young couple whose car broke down while
on their way to the town of Hisayama. Abandoning their car near Inunaki Tunnel, the couple followed
a small path that led into the forest, in order to seek assistance. The couple eventually came
across what seemed to be an abandoned village with a handwritten sign at its entrance that read
"The Japanese constitution is not in effect past here". Continuing on into the village, the couple
would only find traditional, old houses littering the village, all empty apart from darkness and
silence.
[6]
The couple decided to leave the village and head back to their car, when a villager suddenly
emerged from one of the darkened houses to greet them both. Approaching the young couple, the
villager hacked at the man with a sickle he had been brandishing, slicing him from neck to navel.
The woman turned to flee in terror, but she was quickly apprehended and thrown with force into the
street, breaking her ribs from the impact. Left in agony on the floor, the woman crawled towards
one of the dark, abandoned houses, her pursuer looming over her. Before his sickle found its mark
on her, The woman saw beyond the darkness: corpses piled high inside and between each of the houses
as she realised the crazy, old man had silenced the entire village, and now, them too.
[6]
The story ends, with only the young couple's car remaining on the Inunaki Ridge, slowly rusting
away as a sign to ward off visitors to the village.
[6]
